Eylure

ARTIFICIAL EYELASHES

British Pathe Newsreel - making eyelashes

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Photo:Eylure's first premises - `The Shack`, situated on the site of Gosling Stadium 1947

Eylure's first premises - `The Shack`, situated on the site of Gosling Stadium 1947

Welwyn Garden City Library

Photo:Eylure's Bridge Road East premises 1970

Eylure's Bridge Road East premises 1970

Welwyn Garden City Library

False finger nails and eyelashes
By Roger Filler

Eylure was a company that made fix-on eyelashes, finger nails and eye cosmetics. It was founded by the Aylott brothers – David and Eric, who were two professional film make-up men.

The Shack

They saw an opportunity to start making false eyelashes at the end of the war and after a period when their workroom was the family sitting room they moved to their first premises, affectionately called “the shack”, which stood on the site of Gosling Stadium at Stanborough in 1947. Until the late 1950s the brothers worked on film sets by day and ran Eylure part-time but at that time the company had grown to such an extent they made the decision to give up their studio work and get down to the business of running the company full-time,

The move to Bridge Road East

By this time Eylure Cosmetics had moved to much bigger premises at 58-60 Bridge Road East, and was producing several types of false lashes, fingernails and eye make-up products. In 1966 they were presented with one of the first Queen’s Awards to Industry for their export achievement. They were in WGC in 1970 when the larger photograph on this page was taken but does anybody know when they closed? They had a factory in Cwmbran, Monmouthshire. Perhaps that is still going for as a product Eylure still exists.

Did you, or one of your family, work at Eylure during its heyday in WGC? If so, why not log on and tell us your memories of the company, what you did there and the people you worked with.

This page was added by Roger Filler on 05/10/2009.

Comments about this page

My Mum worked for Eylure but not at the factory. She was an out worker. I can remember as a child the grey head sitting on the dining room table with these eye lashes looking at you. She said she had to take the completed work to the Bridge Road factory. This would have been in the 1960's.

By Susan Hall
On 26/11/2010

My mother also worked for Eylure making eyelashes at home in the 1970's. I too remember her sitting at home making lashes every evening. I also went to the Welwyn Garden city High School with Elizabeth Aylott (the owner's daughter) and would love to get in touch with her again.

By Auriol Seaton
On 27/10/2011

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